2009-USA-BIG NEWS!!!!!

Today started out like any other day. I looked at my calendar and it was full. I managed to squeeze in some time to spend with a dear friend of mine- that made my day brighter. Then I came home and checked the mail. I did not check my email; I checked the regular mail. The kind people have to put a stamp on and stick in a post box. There was a mysterious envelope amongst my letters. It was from my son, Sean and his wife, Neisha.

I tore open the envelope and out tumbled a little onesie with these words written on it:


Well, I may not be the sharpest tack around but I certainly know a clue when I'm staring at it!! I started screaming. My husband tried to calm me down.

"What are you screaming about?"

I shoved the onesie in his face and he said, "Don't jump to conclusions"

I just kept screaming and I grabbed the phone and called Sean and Neisha.

"You aren't joking right?? This isn't a joke, right?"

"What??"

"I just opened your package."

Then they laughed. I grinned from ear to ear; I knew the laugh meant I was right. They told me I am going to be a grandma by the beginning of next year.

My day suddenly got a whole lot better.

2006- ...little notes that liked each other...

*title taken from a Mozart quote*

2006 was such an eclectic year. It would be almost impossible to put it into a neat little post. Half the year was spent in Ghana and the other half was spent in the US. Little notes from my journal give a glimpse of what the year was like.

The past couple days I've been fighting some kind of bug- and praying it isn't malaria. I told Daniel that if it continued and my fever stayed up then I would go ahead and take the artesunate . What makes me think it is malaria is because of the dreams- those strange dreams that seem to only come with malaria. They are more like night hallucinations. .................

The house is silent. Silence is so rare. Just 30 minutes ago it was all full of hustling and bustling and one by one the kids headed out the door. They yelled over their shoulders, "Bye mom see you later."

"Okay have fun!"

Now everything is covered with silence. I breathe and I can hear myself breathing. The deep intake of breath as I sit here typing. The water pipes make their regular noises. I can hear the computer hummmming away. Without the others around the sounds are amplified.
......

Having lived the majority of my life in countries that were tropical, I am fascinated with the fall colors. The golden, red, orange, and brown colors are simply breathtaking. They fill up my senses, and yet....and yet...I look at the trees nearby that have already gone through the change of color and are bare...and I realize that these beautiful colors of the leaves are simply announcing their departure.
I wonder in the autumn of my life if I will come out in spectacular colors....announcing my soon coming winter season.

.................

Katrina told me she was going to drive over the pass. I had to let her go--- we have to let our kids go sometime--- I just hate how it is all happening so fast--- I mean--- I thought I had forever--- and ever and ever and ever--- but suddenly she is all grown up and she works and supports herself...she is driving over mountain passes by herself and zipping around on her own. sigh.

Katrina called a little while ago, and I answered and said "Is something wrong?"

"Nope, I'm about 20 minutes from the place, but I just need to talk to Cass"

I hand the phone to Cass, and I hear her say "Yes, of course..."Boston"...I know that one...."

She begins singing a line from a song, and then I hear Kat's voice on the other end singing with her....and I had to leave the room coz I was getting all teary-eyed, I'm not sure why....maybe it was because Sean, my eldest son, just confirmed that he is planning to ask Neisha to marry him very soon!! I guess I have to let him drive that mountain pass alone-- ...I've gotta let go....I just don't understand, if I'm so happy that they are growing up (which I am-= I'm soo proud of them!) WHY does it hurt sooooooo bad!!?? (Now that would make a great title to a song)
..............

Amazing! Snow! After years of green Christmas seasons- I'm standing in the midst of snow falling from the sky.

I went outside and said to anyone that would listen "The snow is marvelous, isn't it?" They just smiled and nodded and tried to walk away very quickly.

Katrina called and told me that it was really snowing up in Kirkland. I told her to put the pics on her myspace blog- she did and I swiped one-- it just is so "Kat"- click here to see Katrina in the snow!

2005 Ghana- The Whirlwind year

Whirlwinds constantly blew through our lives, but I think 2005 was an especially windy year. We started off with a new baby coming to live with us. It changed our lives. He was so precious. Someone discarded him like trash at the side of the road and thankfully he was found before the dogs devoured him. He needed a temporary place to live and it all worked out for him to come and stay with us. Malnutrition hampered his natural growth. Regular meals and proper sleeping times brought about such a change in his development.

Aside from the baby's entry into our lives, we battled a serious case of pneumonia with Cassandra. She almost lost her life. Daniel battled malaria before, but that year he got one of the worse cases he had ever had. Both of them recovered and life went on. We had our share of snakes sneaking into our yard from the overgrowth behind our house.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the two girls left Ghana to reside in the US. Little "Prince John" left us to go and stay in a children's home. We so wanted to adopt him but there were legal restrictions which were insurmountable. He took a bit of our heart with him when he left.

The winds of change blew us into a new house. I think the change was good. As with all life's storms, when the wind and rains died down the fresh smell of new beginnings filtered through.

2005 June- birds leave the nest

Did someone wake me up and tell me, "Your life will never be the same" ? No!

Life was going along merrily with me living in Africa. I simply stepped into a new phase of life. A step which would forever change the dynamics of my life.

My son, Sean, lived in the United States studying for his Physics degree. Now it was time for my daughter, Katrina, to follow her brother's footsteps. She would go and stay with her brother and do her final year of high school. It all seemed like it was going to be so easy until we realized there was no way to separate Katrina from her younger sister Cassandra. Cassandra ended up following Katrina to live with her brother.

A 19 year old young man took his 17 and 15 year old sisters in to live with him. His parents were all the way over in Ghana. Some people have asked me how in the world I trusted my 19 year old son to take care of his sisters. It never was something we gave a second thought about. He was so trustworthy. The two girls were also very trustworthy. All three kids went to school and worked after school and went to church. They said they never had time to get into trouble because they were too busy.


They made it through the year. We don't talk about the year though. If we do refer to it, we call it 'the dark year.' No one knew the tears I wept over in Ghana. Katrina and Cassandra said they never got used to arriving home to a cold apartment and not having parents to greet them. Sean says he grew into an old man that year. We made it through the year, but I doubt I would make the same decision again. My children say they are better for the experience, I think they are the type of kids who take any experience and use it to become better.

Motherhood 2009

Reflections tagged me to post five things I love about being a Mom.

1. I love watching the children find out who they are

It has been such a delight to see each child grow into who they are meant to be. To be able to be a part of that experience is priceless.

2. I enjoy having this compulsory relationship :)

Whether they like it or not- I'm their mom- and what thrills me the most is they say they like it!! But it is nice to know that no matter what 'they are stuck with me' - hee hee!

3. I love doing 'fun' stuff together

In the past, it was 'unbirthday' parties-- oh how I loved those- and I do miss them. Impromptu 'fun' tea parties, picnics, or dinners- celebrating all of us. Now I enjoy the games we play when they come and visit- the long talks- and still...the picnics!

4. I love how Motherhood has changed me

Motherhood has a way of grinding the rough edges off a person. When you are just too tired to take another step- you have to anyways coz this little person is looking to you for help. When you want the last piece of pie...you find yourself giving it to your little one coz afterall they need it more than you do.

5. I love being a mom because it has made me realize I have a capacity to love so many more people and children

Being a mom stretched me- it caused me to understand my love was not limited- it would not run out- there was enough not only for my own family but also for so many others.

Helpful People- Ghana = January 2005

What I love the most about Ghana is the people. They are full of laughter. They don't mind sharing their thoughts on any subject from politics to daily life. They are helpful in times of trouble.

In January 2005, Kat, Cass and Carlin King wanted to go to Tills Beach and I just felt uneasy about them going. The road going out to Tills Beach was a bit dangerous and I wanted to be sure they would be safe. I opted to drive them myself. It was a pleasant enough drive out - around 1 and a half hours. Once I dropped them off; I turned the car around and headed back to Accra. The road leading from Tills to the main road is so deserted-- it really looks like "Africa"...just long elephant grass and trees in the distance and no body--not a soul-- if you saw a Giraffe or some wild animal it would look just normal in such a habitat (except it wouldn't look normal in Ghana! hah)

I was driving along enjoying myself mulling over things. The night before I kept being woken up with the words to a song that says "Look what you've done for me..Yahweh, Yahweh..look what you've done for me" and so that was sort of going on in my head. I cheerfully turned out onto the main highway leading back to Accra and I was on there for only about 5 or 6 minutes and POW...my left back tire blew out!! It was a major blow! I wasn't sure it was the tire I thought the whole engine had burst or exploded. The car careened on the road (the very road that Ps. Raymond and Ps. Felix had their major head on collision) I managed to pull to the side of the road and got out.

It was the tire. There was some men at the side of the road working so I motioned to them. They came over and I asked them to help me with the tire- they were more than happy to do it and it took less then 10 minutes. I was back in the car and on my way thinking how great God was to

1) not to allow it to happen on the long deserted road

2) to let there be willing gentlemen to help me to fix the tire so speedily

Those gentlemen did not have to stop what they were doing to help me- they were being kind. They exemplified the Ghanaian population. Whether it is to help with changing a tire, pulling a car out of a ditch, or rushing someone to the hospital they are always willing to help.

Drowning in People- Ghana- 2004

It's been interesting trying to take an entire year of my life and put it in one update (or sometimes two). When I'm doing it, I think of those who read this blog as friends who have come over to my house...can you just hear the groans if I were to take out reels of old family movies, reams of old photo albums and a billion slides? So, rather than parading every journal entry from each year, I try to pick out bits and pieces. These are not necessarily highlights or even important parts of the year. They just offer a quick glimpse into what was.

An excerpt from my October 2004 journal- My life is so full of people right now. I almost feel like I am drowning in them. I smiled as I read the simple line. This sentence doesn't just sum up 2004- it pretty much sums up my life. The sentence sounds almost negative, but it isn't meant to be. It just is factual.

I often wonder what it would be like to feel lonely. I know you can have a million people around you and feel lonely- well at least I've been told it is true- I've not experienced it. Even when I'm alone, I don't feel lonely. In fact, I treasure my 'alone time.'

One time in my life, I felt this overpowering sense of loneliness- it lasted for a few hours and I thought to myself, "Oh my goodness, if this is what people are feeling when they say they feel lonely- how do they even go on living?" I ran to the One who never leaves me nor forsakes me and said, "Help me!! Take away this horrible empty- gnawing - gaping hole- feeling inside of me- where is it coming from?? If You are here, why should I feel this way?!?" The experience helped me be more compassionate towards others who live with loneliness day in and day out.